Diseases must be diagnosed quickly in order to maximize the chances for their successful medical treatment and containment. One method of diagnosis employs biomarkers linked to specific diseases. The efficient identification of biomarkers for specific diseases will greatly facilitate quick diagnoses, the discovery of new biomarkers, and the development of new vaccines.
The alarming rate of appearance of drug resistant diseases underscores the need to expand our methods to treat diseases, including by vaccines. However, it is often difficult to determine or predict the effectiveness of a vaccine. A quick and efficient means to determine the ability of a vaccine to stimulate an immune response would greatly facilitate the search for novel vaccines.
Another pressing concern is the threat of bioterror attacks such as with anthrax. Anthrax is an often-fatal infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis), which begins by the entry of spores into the mammalian host. To combat the use of B. anthracis spores as a biological weapon, a rapid and specific method to detect B. anthracis spores is needed. In addition, the serious side effects accompanying currently used anthrax vaccines emphasize the need to find a safer anthrax vaccine.
Cell-surface carbohydrates show promise as biomarkers to study immune responses. Yet carbohydrates have not been efficiently harnessed as biomarkers for disease detection, biomarker identification, or vaccine development.